QUEEN’S B’DAY HONOU

and volunteers with the Government’s ‘Scientists in Schools’ program.

‘MUSICAL’ SCIENTIST

Dr. Rama Rao, OAM

For her service to Indian music and dance

Dr. Rama Rao arrived in Australia in February 1983, and sang at a family event two days later: she has not stopped singing since.

Besides being a trained classical musician, she also had a PhD in polymer chemistry from the University of Madras. She remembers to this day her visit to the Australian High Commission in Delhi in 1982, when the consular official, granting her and her husband a permanent resident visa to Australia, exclaimed, “Australia welcomes a musical scientist!”

Rama Rao’s scientific, industrial, philanthropic and musical career developed in tandem in Australia.

She enrolled for a post doctorate program at Monash University, and shortly thereafter established the Krishna Ravali School of Carnatic Music in 1984. She began working for Dulux Paints (where she

MUSIC worked for 25 years), started a family, and began performing, being one of the first to provide live music for Bharatanatyam performances in Australia.

“My love for both music and science has made it possible for me to give back to the community in many ways,” Rama told Indian Link.

Not only has her Krishna Ravali music school grown exponentially – it now boasts 120 students – Rama has also been president of the Festival of Indian Music

For Charity

Sivaganga Sahathevan, OAM

For service to the Indian community of Victoria, and to music

Fleeing the civil war in Sri Lanka and then seeking refuge in India, Sivaganga Sahathevan is no stranger to seeking peace through music. With an appreciation for music from an early age, Sivaganga helped spawn an awareness of an existing stream of Indian music in her hometown in Preston as a gift to the Indian community who gave her a sanctuary.

Sivaganga vividly recalls that she was on her way to Darebin City Council in Preston to pay her council rates when she saw a poster advertising the Darebin Music Feast. As she read the poster, she wondered why there was no Indian component. Determined to find out, she talked to a few locals in the area and crossed paths with the producers of the Feast. With her willingness to contribute back to the Indian community at heart, she helped arrange a performance of Carnatic music for the event. That was way back in 1998. Since then, she continues to actively take part in the Feast. From 2001, her group has had a standalone performance in the programme. “We decided to donate all proceeds to the Starlight Children’s Foundation and this very important partnership has continued ever since,”

Sivaganga told Indian Link as she discussed the breadth of her contribution. “In 2017 we also started performances that raised funds and Dance Victoria FIMDV for 3 years between 2014 and 2017.

“In my opinion, Melbourne has become increasingly the centre of Indian classical music and dance in Australia,” she mused, adding, “I have enjoyed this incredibly joyful journey with my fellow artistes and students.”

As a scientist, Rama is the Chairperson of the Victorian division of Surface Coatings Association of Australia; is involved in CSIRO’s STEM Program which promotes science in schools,

Being a Saibaba devotee, she lives by the motto ‘the hands that serve are better than lips that pray’ and has been involved in various philanthropic endeavours, such as organising music concerts to raise funds for humanitarian causes such as AMAZE, an organisation shaping the future of autism. “While working with AMAZE, I realised how music can help to improve immensely the lives of those in the autism spectrum,” she revealed.

Rama also manages to put time aside for monthly bhajan sessions and community service with the Monash Lion’s Club.

While reading of Rama Rao’s contributions, one can’t help but think that she has had such a full life: indeed, one wonders how 24 hours in a day have sufficed for all the things she has managed to do.

“The OAM honour has come as a total surprise for me, and I feel both humbled and honoured by it,” she revealed. “I would like to dedicate it to the people who have been a part of this wonderful musical journey with me - my parents, especially my mum mother who introduced me to music (and after whom I have named my music school); my gurus DwaramDoraiswamy of Nellore, and the late Dr S Swaminathan of Chennai; my siblings, my husband and my children who have been supportive of me always; my fellow artistes, and my students and their families.”

Chitra Sudarshan

Chandrabhanu and the Bharatalaya Academy.

“Dr Chandrabhanu gave me my first opening in Melbourne’s world of Indian music and dance, and the Darebin Music Feast gave me the platform to present Indian music to the wider Melbourne community.”

Both enabled her to engage with the community, encourage artists to showcase their talent, and work with groups of people who share a passion for comforting others through music and performance.

“This latest award is for them,” she said with gratitude. “It is also motivation for me to keep going.” for the Girls from Oz, a charity that enables indigenous girls from rural and remote Australia to obtain musical education and to help sustain their communities.”

Sivaganga acknowledges the participation and assistance of many organisations in her musical career including the Academy of Mary Immaculate, the Australian Girls Choir, Multicultural Arts Victoria, Vani Fine Arts Society (UK) and Shylar Productions in Chennai. She recognises the incredible devotion of the Taste of India committee, her students, the many families and friends and, very importantly, established Australian and international artists and sponsors.

With her efforts and the support from her team, contributions of $37,000 have been passed on to the two charities. Sivaganga is thankful to her team, in particular Dr

Talking of the future, Sivaganga shared that her aim is to develop activities to engage the elders in the community and draw on their experiences and knowledge. She also wants to offer a platform to enable up and coming children and students to express their culture through music and performance.

“You can see that this is a pretty challenging agenda,” she laughed. “However, I believe not only that each person can make a difference, but also that being a leader to a team of dedicated individuals keen to work together, will support the community.”

Carl Buhariwala